A new gift from USC trustee Lydia Helen Kennard will help revitalize and renovate USC East College Prep, one of two charter schools operated through a partnership between the USC Rossier School of Education and the charter management organization it founded, Ednovate Inc.
Kennard’s gift of $40,000, together with a 4:1 matching gift from The Intermec Foundation, will provide $200,000 in new funding for the innovative charter school. With this latest gift, Kennard’s total contributions to USC East College Prep exceed $1 million.
USC East College Prep is a rigorous college prep charter high school that delivers personalized learning while instilling a strong sense of purpose in its students to prepare them for college and career success. It is the second charter high school developed and launched by the USC Rossier School. The first, USC Hybrid High, now enrolls 450 students in downtown Los Angeles, with its first class of seniors set to graduate in June. Three more similar schools are set to open before 2018.
“Lydia Kennard is an inspiring leader and a tremendous friend to the USC community,” said USC President C. L. Max Nikias. “Her most recent gift to our university supports USC East College Prep, and will have an immediate impact on the school’s learning environment. For years to come, this gift will enrich the educational experience we offer the school’s students.”
Kennard’s long-standing support was instrumental in helping secure a permanent home for USC East College Prep, located on North Mission Road in Los Angeles, not far from USC’s Health Sciences Campus. Other schools in the Ednovate network, like many charter schools across the country, do not have long-term campuses, an aspect that can often be straining to a school’s operations.
“Lydia’s commitment to education will help to ensure stability for students at a critical moment, both for them and for our young school,” said USC Rossier Dean Karen Symms Gallagher.
In remarks made at the ribbon cutting for USC East College Prep this past October, Kennard emphasized the need to provide students with a strong foundation of learning.
“It doesn’t matter who your parents are, what they do for a living, how much money they have, what race, ethnicity, gender or religious background you come from, if you have a great education, you can do whatever you want and follow your dreams,” she said. “The investment in these students is priceless and provides a positive foundation for their futures.”
Kennard is the president and CEO of Los Angeles-based KDG Construction Consulting, and the founding principal of Airport Property Ventures. She is the previous executive director of Los Angeles World Airports. She has served on the USC Board of Trustees since 2005.
Kennard’s gift helps to advance USC’s $6 billion Campaign for the University of Southern California, one of the most ambitious fundraising campaigns in the history of higher education. The campaign has already raised more than $5 billion to advance USC’s academic priorities and expand its positive impact on the community and the world.
This article originally appeared on USC News.
